Make the Season Bright, Ashley Herring Blake
Make the Season Bright, Ashley Herring Blake
List: $22.50 | Sale: $15.75
Club: $11.25

Make the Season Bright

Author: Ashley Herring Blake

Narrator: Kristen DiMercurio

Unabridged: 10 hr 25 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Penguin Audio

Published: 10/01/2024


Synopsis

Two exes find themselves stuck at the same house for Christmas in this holiday romance by Ashley Herring Blake, USA Today bestselling author of Iris Kelly Doesn't Date.

It's been five years since Charlotte Donovan was ditched at the altar by her ex-fiancée, and she’s doing more than okay. Sure, her single mother never checks in, but she has her strings ensemble, the Rosalind Quartet, and her life in New York is a dream come true. As the holidays draw near, her ensemble mate Sloane persuades Charlotte and the rest of the quartet to spend Christmas with her family in Colorado—it is much cozier and quieter than Manhattan, and it would guarantee more practice time for the quartet’s upcoming tour. But when Charlotte arrives, she discovers that Sloane’s sister Adele also brought a friend home—and that friend is none other than her ex, Brighton.

All Brighton Fairbrook wanted was to have the holliest, jolliest Christmas—and try to forget that her band kicked her out. But instead, she’s stuck pretending like she and her ex are strangers—which proves to be difficult when Sloane and Adele’s mom signs them all up for a series of Christmas dating events. Charlotte and Brighton are soon entrenched in horseback riding and cookie decorating, but Charlotte still won’t talk to her. Brighton can hardly blame her after what she did.

After a few days, however, things start to slip through. Memories. Music. The way they used to play together—Brighton on guitar, Charlotte on her violin—and it all feels painfully familiar. But it’s all in the past and nothing can melt the ice in their hearts...right?

About The Author

Ashley Herring Blake is an award-winning author. She holds a master’s degree in teaching and loves coffee, arranging her books by color, and cold weather. She is the author of romance novels, young adult novels, and middle grade novels. She’s also a coeditor on the young adult romance anthology Fools in Love. She lives on a very tiny island off the coast of Georgia with her family.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Ashley on January 11, 2025

Reasons I would forgive you if you leave me at the aisle: 1. You get kidnapped 2. You are dying/physically injured and are en route to the hospital Reasons I will not forgive you if you leave me at the aisle: 1. You “weren’t feeling ready” but never said it directly and expected me to read your mind in......more

Goodreads review by emma on March 03, 2025

the devil herself is in this book and she's a prematurely gray violinist. possibly it is not the fault of charlotte, one of our two dual-pov second chance romantics, that she sucks so hard. perhaps she has a life-threatening allergy to asking her alleged best friend a single question about her life.......more

Goodreads review by ♥︎ Heather ⚔(Semi-Hiatus) on December 18, 2024

⋆✴︎˚。⋆ '𝓛𝓸𝓿𝓮... 𝓲𝓽'𝓼 𝓪 𝓵𝓸𝓽. 𝓘𝓽'𝓼 𝓹𝓸𝔀𝓮𝓻𝓯𝓾𝓵, 𝓫𝓾𝓽 𝓘'𝓭 𝓵𝓸𝓿𝓮 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝔀𝓱𝓮𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓻 𝓘 𝓬𝓪𝓶𝓮 𝓱𝓮𝓻𝓮 𝓽𝓸𝓷𝓲𝓰𝓱𝓽 𝓸𝓻 𝓷𝓸𝓽. 𝓘'𝓭 𝓵𝓸𝓿𝓮 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓲𝓷 𝓝𝓮𝔀 𝓨𝓸𝓻𝓴, 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓘'𝓭 𝓵𝓸𝓿𝓮 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓲𝓷 𝓟𝓪𝓻𝓲𝓼, 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓘'𝓭 𝓵𝓸𝓿𝓮 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓲𝓷 𝓖𝓻𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓗𝓪𝓿𝓮𝓷.' ⋆✴︎˚。⋆ Alright... I really had to think on this one for most of the day because there's so much that I enjoyed but qui......more

Goodreads review by Jess • justpeachyreads on November 25, 2024

May this type of love never find me 💚🙏......more

Goodreads review by Elizabeth on December 22, 2024

If my fiancée left me at the altar I would never give her another chance, sorry. Also stop it with “good girl” in every sex scene, I beg of you!!! Content Warnings: abandonment/being left at the altar, parental neglect You can find me on... Youtube | Instagram | TikTok You can join our book club over o......more


Quotes

“Ashley Herring Blake’s Make the Season Bright is the mulled wine of holiday love stories: sweet, steamy, and completely intoxicating. If you love second-chance romances between former best friends as much as I do, then make sure this one is in your stocking. A delight!”—Carley Fortune, #1 New York Times bestselling author of This Summer Will Be Different

“This book is a snowy sapphic delight. Ashley Herring Blake delivers all the yearning you want from a second chance romance, with a full cast of complicated, lovable characters who push each other to change and grow. This one is going straight to the top of my Christmas romance reread list!”—Bridget Morrissey, author of That Summer Feeling

"A sexy, snow-filled confection that will warm your heart no matter the season. The history and heat between the leads had me rooting for a happily ever after while fanning myself to keep from fainting. I adored this deliciously satisfying, joyfully queer holiday romance!"—Rebekah Faubion, author of The Lovers

"Cozy and comforting... This is destined for many a keeper shelf.”—Publishers Weekly

“Blake excels at bringing readers along on the emotional journey of her characters, going from feeling jilted Charlotte’s angst to eventually rooting for a reunion as Brighton’s side of the story is revealed. .. Featuring a hard-won happily ever-after and queer found family, this is a second-chance holiday romance to revel in.”—Library Journal

"Make the Season Bright is the perfect holiday second-chance romance... It's what I love most about Herring Blake's books. The well-developed characters, the very real and complex emotions, and a few surprises to keep everything interesting."—Culturess

"Jam-packed with a fun and diverse cast of characters and holiday merriment, Make the Season Bright is exactly what readers would expect from Herring Blake...Make the Season Bright is a wonderfully modern and refreshing take on the classic small-town Christmas romance."—Shelf Awareness

"Cozy up this festive season with Make the Season Bright, a refreshing second chance sapphic romance that blends humour with heart and delivers all the festive shenanigans your heart could ever desire!"—The Nerd Daily